Electron-beam resists are at the forefront of the manufacture of integrated circuits because they permit the formation of smaller images than do resists which are responsive only to light radiation. It is desirable that such electron-beam resists be more sensitive than 5.times.10.sup.-7 coulombs/cm.sup.2 when exposed to a 15 keV electron beam, and have a resistance to deformation by the developer solvent and a resistance to subsequent fabrication steps, e.g., etching, ion implantation, etc.
A superior negative-working electron-beam resist is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,842. That resist comprises, in certain embodiments, copolymers of allyl methacrylate. Although such a resist has been particularly useful, it has demonstrated on occasion, and for reasons that are not completely understood, a sensitivity to the environment in which it is coated. More specifically, unless steps are taken to reduce such things as the amount of humidity in the environment, this resist tends occasionally to form severe edge scaling (residual amounts of unexposed polymer, resembling scales, projecting from the edges of the image after development and which are not removable). Although the problem can be overcome by controlling the environment, it would be advantageous to develop a negative-working resist of comparable quality that is not so sensitive to environmental conditions.